Active Analysis in the Beginning Acting Classroom

Often, the exercises in the acting classroom can feel at odds with the processes used in the rehearsal room. I believe Konstantin Stanislavsky’s rehearsal method of Active Analysis provides tools and perspectives for dealing with these challenges. At The S Word Symposium in November 2022, I outlined a process I developed for teaching beginning acting using principles of Active Analysis as a tool to bridge the gap between training and rehearsing. This article outlines the experiences and thought processes that went into creating this class structure and reviews the benefits for students. Applied in this way, Stanislavsky’s impulse to place embodied action before intellectual analysis yields valuable results in the classroom as well as the rehearsal hall

Factors Contributing To Registered Nurse Job Satisfaction In the Nursing Home

Over the next several years the aging population will increase the number of patients suffering from chronic illness. A sicker aging population, coupled with changes in healthcare reimbursement will require nursing homes to admit sicker patients for shorter lengths of stays. To meet the needs of the increased number of chronic patients and those patients with higher acuities, nursing homes will require more skilled, registered nurses. Registered nurses (RNs) are the linchpin to providing high-quality care in the healthcare environment and especially in nursing homes. Understanding the factors of RN job satisfaction in the nursing home is important in increasing job satisfaction, decreasing RN turnover, and improving quality of care. The purpose of this study was to 1) Identify factors that contribute to job satisfaction for RNs working in Genesis nursing homes in the Northeast, 2) determine the overall job satisfaction levels of nursing home RNs working for Genesis in the Northeast. A descriptive, comparative, cross sectional study was conducted to gather quantitative data (survey) describing RN job satisfaction in eight domains. Five hundred forty nine RNs from eight states and one hundred sixty nine nursing homes met the inclusion criteria of the study. Study results revealed that RNs were most satisfied with standards of care and personal satisfaction in nursing homes. They were least satisfied with pay, training and workload. The Mid-Atlantic RNs were significantly more satisfied than New England RNs with standards of care (p= This study lends support to the position that continued staff reassessment and investment in staff development is key to the management of cost effective and efficient nursing home care especially as the need for RNs in nursing homes is expected to increase

Factors Contributing To Registered Nurse Job Satisfaction In the Nursing Home

Over the next several years the aging population will increase the number of patients suffering from chronic illness. A sicker aging population, coupled with changes in healthcare reimbursement will require nursing homes to admit sicker patients for shorter lengths of stays. To meet the needs of the increased number of chronic patients and those patients with higher acuities, nursing homes will require more skilled, registered nurses. Registered nurses (RNs) are the linchpin to providing high-quality care in the healthcare environment and especially in nursing homes. Understanding the factors of RN job satisfaction in the nursing home is important in increasing job satisfaction, decreasing RN turnover, and improving quality of care. The purpose of this study was to 1) Identify factors that contribute to job satisfaction for RNs working in Genesis nursing homes in the Northeast, 2) determine the overall job satisfaction levels of nursing home RNs working for Genesis in the Northeast. A descriptive, comparative, cross sectional study was conducted to gather quantitative data (survey) describing RN job satisfaction in eight domains. Five hundred forty nine RNs from eight states and one hundred sixty nine nursing homes met the inclusion criteria of the study. Study results revealed that RNs were most satisfied with standards of care and personal satisfaction in nursing homes. They were least satisfied with pay, training and workload. The Mid-Atlantic RNs were significantly more satisfied than New England RNs with standards of care (p= This study lends support to the position that continued staff reassessment and investment in staff development is key to the management of cost effective and efficient nursing home care especially as the need for RNs in nursing homes is expected to increase

Evidence that pioneer olfactory axons regulate telencephalon cell cycle kinetics to induce the formation of the olfactory bulb

AbstractEarly olfactory axons follow a specific pathway to reach the developing telencephalon. We observed that a subpopulation of these axons, the pioneer olfactory axons, penetrate into the ventricular zone of a highly restricted region of the telencephalon at E13 and E14. At E15, this same telencephalic region evaginates to form the olfactory bulb. To investigate the possibility that the pioneer olfactory axons induce the olfactory bulb by influencing precursor cell populations, we compared cell cycle kinetics and differentiation in the olfactory bulb primordium and the adjacent neocortex using cumulative bromdeoxyurldine labeling. The results showed that, 24 hr after the arrival of the first pioneer axons, the duration of the cell cycle is prolonged significantly in the olfactory bulb primordium. In addition, twice as many cells have exited the mitotic cycle in the olfactory bulb primordium versus the adjacent cortex. These findings suggest that pioneer olfactory axons play a role in the induction of the olfactory bulb by selectively modulating cell cycle kinetics in the olfactory bulb primordium. Afferent axons may influence target morphogenesis by modulating target precursor cell proliferation in other developing neural structures

A New Star-Formation Rate Calibration from Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Emission Features and Application to High Redshift Galaxies

We calibrate the integrated luminosity from the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) features at 6.2\micron, 7.7\micron\ and 11.3\micron\ in galaxies as a measure of the star-formation rate (SFR). These features are strong (containing as much as 5-10\% of the total infrared luminosity) and suffer minimal extinction. Our calibration uses \spitzer\ Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) measurements of 105 galaxies at $0 < z < 0.4$, infrared (IR) luminosities of 10^9 - 10^{12} \lsol, combined with other well-calibrated SFR indicators. The PAH luminosity correlates linearly with the SFR as measured by the extinction-corrected \ha\ luminosity over the range of luminosities in our calibration sample. The scatter is 0.14 dex comparable to that between SFRs derived from the \paa\ and extinction-corrected \ha\ emission lines, implying the PAH features may be as accurate a SFR indicator as hydrogen recombination lines. The PAH SFR relation depends on gas-phase metallicity, for which we supply an empirical correction for galaxies with 0.2 < \mathrm{Z} \lsim 0.7~\zsol. We present a case study in advance of the \textit{James Webb Space Telescope} (\jwst), which will be capable of measuring SFRs from PAHs in distant galaxies at the peak of the SFR density in the universe ($z\sim2$) with SFRs as low as $\sim$~10~\sfrunits. We use \spitzer/IRS observations of the PAH features and \paa\ emission plus \ha\ measurements in lensed star-forming galaxies at $1 < z < 3$ to demonstrate the ability of the PAHs to derive accurate SFRs. We also demonstrate that because the PAH features dominate the mid-IR fluxes, broad-band mid-IR photometric measurements from \jwst\ will trace both the SFR and provide a way to exclude galaxies dominated by an AGN.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

“Such a section as never was put together before”: Logan, Dawson, Lyell, and mid-Nineteenth-Century measurements of the Pennsylvanian Joggins section of Nova Scotia

William Edmond Logan assumed his duties as the first head of the Geological Survey of Canada in June 1843. Two previously overlooked field notebooks provide new insight into his first field project that summer: measurement of the “Joggins section,” a classic Carboniferous locality in Nova Scotia. Inspired by reports of 40-foot-tall fossil trees, Logan spent five days measuring 14 570 feet 11 inches of strata exposed along the shore of the Bay of Fundy. Widely regarded as a meticulous, bed-by-bed measured section, closer examination reveals that many thickness values were calculated using paced distances. Realizing that his measured section was too detailed for scientific journals of the day, Logan published his work in a relatively obscure government publication where it went largely unnoticed for nearly a decade. Unaware of Logan’s measured section, John William Dawson and Charles Lyell visited Joggins in 1852 and measured the section for themselves. Dawson later stated that the two sections contain only minor differences, but careful comparison shows that they have radically different descriptions and measurements for even the most distinctive beds. Dawson disguised these discrepancies in post-1855 editions of his book Acadian Geology by rewriting much of the measured section and abandoning many of his own observations. Although over 200 subsequent Joggins studies build upon these measured sections, the present study represents the first detailed examination of the two historical sections and reveals previously unknown discrepancies between two of the most important early geologic studies undertaken in Nova Scotia. Resumé William Edmond Logan est devenu le premier responsable de la Commission géologique du Canada en juin 1843. Deux carnets de travaux sur le terrain, précédemment négligés, fournissent un nouvel éclairage sur son premier projet sur le terrain cet été-là : le mesurage du « stratotype de Joggins », un secteur carbonifère classique en Nouvelle-Écosse. Inspiré par des comptes rendus de la présence d’arbres fossiles de 40 pieds de hauteur, Logan a consacré cinq jours à mesurer 14 570 pieds 11 pouces de strates affleurant le long du rivage de la baie de Fundy. Un examen plus attentif de l’endroit, largement considéré comme un stratotype méticuleusement mesuré couche par couche, révèle que de nombreuses données d’épaisseur ont été calculées au nombre de pas. Se rendant compte que le stratotype qu’il avait mesuré était trop détaillé pour les revues scientifiques de l’époque, Logan avait publié ses travaux dans une publication gouvernementale relativement obscure où ils sont demeurés pratiquement inaperçus pendant près d’une décennie. John William Dawson et Charles Lyell, qui n’étaient pas au courant du stratotype mesuré par Logan, se sont rendus à Joggins en 1852 et ont mesuré le stratotype eux-mêmes. Dawson a ultérieurement laissé entendre que les deux stratotypes présentaient seulement des différences minimes, mais une comparaison attentive révèle que leurs descriptions et leurs mesures sont radicalement différentes, même dans le cas des couches les plus caractéristiques. Dawson a déguisé ces divergences dans des éditions ultérieures à 1855 de son livre Acadian Geology en remaniant une vaste part du stratotype mesuré et en abandonnant nombre de ses propres observations. Même si plus de 200 études subséquentes de Joggins se sont appuyées sur les stratotypes mesurés, la présente étude représente le premier examen détaillé des stratotypes et elle révèle des divergences auparavant inconnues entre deux des premières études géologiques les plus importantes réalisées en Nouvelle-Écosse. [Traduit par la rédaction

A lunar base reference mission for the phased implementation of bioregenerative life support system components

Previous design efforts of a cost effective and reliable regenerative life support system (RLSS) provided the foundation for the characterization of organisms or 'biological processors' in engineering terms and a methodology was developed for their integration into an engineered ecological LSS in order to minimize the mass flow imbalances between consumers and producers. These techniques for the design and the evaluation of bioregenerative LSS have now been integrated into a lunar base reference mission, emphasizing the phased implementation of components of such a BLSS. In parallel, a designers handbook was compiled from knowledge and experience gained during past design projects to aid in the design and planning of future space missions requiring advanced RLSS technologies. The lunar base reference mission addresses in particular the phased implementation and integration of BLS parts and includes the resulting infrastructure burdens and needs such as mass, power, volume, and structural requirements of the LSS. Also, operational aspects such as manpower requirements and the possible need and application of 'robotics' were addressed

Occurrence, Distribution , and Remodeling of Arachidonic Acid in Phospholipid Fractions from the Salivary Glands of Amblyomma Americanum (L.)

Analysis of lipids in salivary glands of the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, demonstrated that arachidonic acid (20:4, n-6) comprises 8% of all fatty acids identified by gas chromatography. The occurrence of arachidonic acid and other C~ polyunsaturated fatty acids in tick salivary glands was confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Arachidonate is located entirely in the phospholipid fraction and is associated exclusively with phosphatidylcholine {PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine {PE). Salivary glands stored and frozen for several months had a similar lipid composition as freshly dissected salivary glands, with the exception of a small amount of free arachidonic acid and an increase in lysophosphatidylcholine. Incubation of salivary gland homogenates with snake venom phospholipase A:z showed that most saturated fatty acids are esterified in the sn-1 position of PC and PE, with the unsaturated fatty acids in the sn-2 position. Approximately 75% of arachidonic acid is in the sn-2 position of PC and PE, adding support to the hypothesis that arachidonic acid is released into the cytoplasm after activation of a phospholipase A:z for subsequent metabolism to prostaglandins and/or other eicosanoids.The lipid composition of salivary glands from male and female lone star ticks, .Amblyomma americanum, was investigated at progressive stages of tick feeding. The amounts of fatty acids from both phospholipid and neutral lipid fractions increased dramatically during the initial stage of feeding, and peaked in partially-fed females weighing 100-250 mg. Percent compositions of myristic (14:0} and palmitic acid (16:0} decreased, but stearic (18:0), oleic (18:1), linoleic (18:2), and arachidonic acid (20:4} increased during tick feeding. Arachidonic acid, the precursor to eicosanoids including the 2-series of prostaglandins, increased from 1.3% of all fatty acids in salivary glands from unfed female ticks to 8.2% in salivary glands from fully engorged female ticks. Arachidonic acid was found in the triglyceride fraction of unfed and fed virgin females, but only in phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine from salivary glands of other fed female ticks. Comparisons between fed and unfed male ticks and fed/virgin, fed/mated, and unfed females demonstrate that feeding is necessary for accumulation of arachidonic acid in salivary gland phospholipids.The subclass composition of choline- and ethanolaminecontaining phospholipids was determined by analysis of acyl-linked fatty acids released by base hydrolysis of diradylglycerobenzoates formed from lone star tick salivary gland diacyl, alkylacyl and alkenylacyl phospholipids. Of the ether-linked phospholipids, the alkylacyl subclass comprises about 9% and the alkenylacyl subclass about 4% of choline phospholipids. Ethanolamine phospholipids consist of about 14% and 13% alkylacyl and alkenylacyl lipids, respectively. Arachidonic acid (20:4) is the most abundant fatty acid released from the acyl linkage of alkylacyl-PC (28% of all fatty acids) and is 17% in alkenylacyl-PC. Alkylacyl-PE is also rich in 20:4 (24%) while the alkenylacyl-PE subclass contains only 9% arachidonic acid. Overall, although the amount of arachidonic acid in etherlinked lipids is relatively high, the majority of the salivary gland arachidonic acid (>83%) is in the diacyl phospholipids because of the higher amounts of this phospholipid subclass in tick salivary glands. Isolated salivary glands incorporated [3H]-arachidonic acid after 15 min primarily into the diacyl subclass of phosphatidylcholine (PC) > phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and some into triglycerides. Additional incubation in the absence of exogenous labeled arachidonic acid for up to 120 min shows a remodeling of 3H-20:4 from PC into PE, and from the diacyl subclass to the alkylacyl subclass in the choline phospholipids.Entomolog

Gender-specific associations of short sleep duration with prevalent and incident hypertension : the Whitehall II Study

Sleep deprivation (5 hour per night) was associated with a higher risk of hypertension in middle-aged American adults but not among older individuals. However, the outcome was based on self-reported diagnosis of incident hypertension, and no gender-specific analyses were included. We examined cross-sectional and prospective associations of sleep duration with prevalent and incident hypertension in a cohort of 10 308 British civil servants aged 35 to 55 years at baseline (phase 1: 1985-1988). Data were gathered from phase 5 (1997-1999) and phase 7 (2003-2004). Sleep duration and other covariates were assessed at phase 5. At both examinations, hypertension was defined as blood pressure 140/90 mm Hg or regular use of antihypertensive medications. In cross-sectional analyses at phase 5 (n5766), short duration of sleep (5 hour per night) was associated with higher risk of hypertension compared with the group sleeping 7 hours, among women (odds ratio: 2.01; 95% CI: 1.13 to 3.58), independent of confounders, with an inverse linear trend across decreasing hours of sleep (P0.003). No association was detected in men. In prospective analyses (mean follow-up: 5 years), the cumulative incidence of hypertension was 20.0% (n740) among 3691 normotensive individuals at phase 5. In women, short duration of sleep was associated with a higher risk of hypertension in a reduced model (age and employment) (6 hours per night: odds ratio: 1.56 [95% CI: 1.07 to 2.27]; 5 hour per night: odds ratio: 1.94 [95% CI: 1.08 to 3.50] versus 7 hours). The associations were attenuated after accounting for cardiovascular risk factors and psychiatric comorbidities (odds ratio: 1.42 [95% CI: 0.94 to 2.16]; odds ratio: 1.31 [95% CI: 0.65 to 2.63], respectively). Sleep deprivation may produce detrimental cardiovascular effects among women. (Hypertension. 2007;50:694-701.) Key Words: sleep duration blood pressure hypertension gender differences confounders comorbiditie